Secrets may be never be revealed because of the shame and agony the secret inflicts. The characters in the Scarlet Letter keep many secrets with themselves and although it may be compelling to keep a powerful secret, when a secret is kept to oneself, a secret does not only burdens one person, but others too.
Even when Hester Prynne was publicly shamed on the scaffold, she refused to reveal her lover’s name. This secret of the lover’s name greatly effected Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale could not deal with Hester refusing to reveal the secret to the rest of the town that his health began to deteriorate, “His form grew emaciated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of in it; he was often observed, on any slight alarm or other sudden accident, to …show more content…
There is no substance in it! It is cold and dead and can do nothing for me!’” (Hawthorne 144).
Dimmesdale has kept this secret a burden for seven years, and although Hester says that he is forgiven, it is not enough for this burden to be lifted from Dimmesdale. The burden inflicted by the secret induces Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale with a declining health and a mental state considered insane. In addition to Dimmesdale carrying a burden from the secret of Hester Prynne, Pearl was also effected by the secret. In the beginning of the book Hester Prynne was the only character who knew who the father is. Prynne was asked to reveal the father’s name, if she revealed the father’s name she was able to take the scarlet letter off her chest. Even with that circumstance, she would not reveal the name and kept it a secret. She was willing to leave Pearl fatherless. By keeping the father’s name a secret, Pearl was effected because even at an early age she asked her mother who her father was. For example, she was not able to have friends when she was younger, and as a result, she was not able to live like a normal Puritan
Even when Hester Prynne was publicly shamed on the scaffold, she refused to reveal her lover’s name. This secret of the lover’s name greatly effected Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale could not deal with Hester refusing to reveal the secret to the rest of the town that his health began to deteriorate, “His form grew emaciated; his voice, though still rich and sweet, had a certain melancholy prophecy of in it; he was often observed, on any slight alarm or other sudden accident, to …show more content…
There is no substance in it! It is cold and dead and can do nothing for me!’” (Hawthorne 144).
Dimmesdale has kept this secret a burden for seven years, and although Hester says that he is forgiven, it is not enough for this burden to be lifted from Dimmesdale. The burden inflicted by the secret induces Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale with a declining health and a mental state considered insane. In addition to Dimmesdale carrying a burden from the secret of Hester Prynne, Pearl was also effected by the secret. In the beginning of the book Hester Prynne was the only character who knew who the father is. Prynne was asked to reveal the father’s name, if she revealed the father’s name she was able to take the scarlet letter off her chest. Even with that circumstance, she would not reveal the name and kept it a secret. She was willing to leave Pearl fatherless. By keeping the father’s name a secret, Pearl was effected because even at an early age she asked her mother who her father was. For example, she was not able to have friends when she was younger, and as a result, she was not able to live like a normal Puritan